A ‘50s fever is taking over Madison High School – at least after school every day in the auditorium. This is where rehearsal has been taking place for this year’s musical: Bye Bye Birdie. The Madison Dodger Online (MDO) interviewed two of the show’s stars, Preston Tolbert (PT) and Jess Schuszler (JS) to find out more.
We began by talking a little bit about the plot of the show. Bye Bye Birdie takes place in 1950s America, when poodle skirts and saddle shoes were all the rage. The musical begins when Conrad Birdie, a teen-age superstar, has just been drafted into the army. His manager Albert, played by Preston, is deeply in debt to Conrad and needs to make up the balance. Just when he is feeling desperate, his girlfriend Rose, played by Jess, has the idea to have a contest of sorts. Conrad will perform a new song entitled “One Last Kiss” on the Ed Sullivan Show. At the end of the performance, he will give that last kiss to one of his fans before he goes off to the army. Kim McAfee is the lucky girl chosen out of millions of teens for this kiss. However, things don’t go as planned – but to find out what happens, Preston and Jess informed me that I will just have to see the show!
MDO: You both have been in other plays and musicals at MHS before. How is this one different?
JS: It’s a totally different time period. Other musicals I’ve been in are typically set in the 1900s-1930s, while this is in the late 1950s! The costumes are much cuter!
PT: Well I am the lead in the musical this year, which is so much pressure on me. Also, this is the first time I have been in a show with Mrs. Elefante as the director, and she is doing a spectacular job with the show.
MDO: Have you found there’s a lot of competition for parts in the MHS musicals?
JS: I wouldn’t say competition in the sense that students get catty about parts, but there is definitely competition, specifically among girls. Everyone wants a good role, and you find multiple girls trying out for the same part
PT: To me it seems as if there isn’t much competition. Everyone is very supportive of each other.
MDO: What’s the hardest part for you about performing in and practicing for in a musical? The easiest?
JS: The easiest is memorizing lines for me. I’ve always found it easy to remember lines quickly! The hardest is dancing. I am not very graceful!
PT: The hardest part for me is figuring out how I will represent the character I am playing. The easiest part is running through the show after all of the lines have been memorized.
MDO: Rehearsals run from December to March. Is there a specific strategy you use to connect to your characters and become them every day at rehearsal, seeing as there are so many of them?
JS: It takes practice, but you really just have to start believing you’re that character onstage. From what kind of facial expressions you make to hand motions, everything has to feel like you are in that scene.
PT: What I do is I try to look at the plot the way the character would. Then I pull from my own experiences to react to certain events in the show to make everything seem as real as possible.
MDO: Speaking of characters, how are each of your respective characters similar to you in real life? Are there any traits that you share?
JS: Rose and I are similar in that we both are very determined to get what we want. Rose is confident and sassy! She’s an awesome character and has so much personality. I love playing her!
PT: Well, Albert can be a bit of a nervous wreck at times, and so can I. But Albert always has a tough time speaking his mind, which isn’t very true for me.
MDO: The musical has three performances. Traditionally, which one has been the easiest for you and why?
JS: Definitely Sunday because it is the last one. By then, we have done so many performances already and gotten used to being in front of an audience.
PT: Saturday is always the easiest performance because the initial fear of opening night has passed and now you want to show the audience how much work you put into the show.
MDO: Before the interview ends, is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers about Bye-Bye Birdie?
JS: Come and see it! It’s a really fun show and has awesome music.
Bye Bye Birdie will be performed at Madison High School from March 20-23. The show times are as follows:
Thursday, March 20 – 6:30 PM
Friday, March 21 – 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 22 – 7:30 PM
Sunday, March 23 – 3:00 PM
Tickets are $15 for adults or $12 for students and seniors if pre-ordered. The ticket form can be found at http://www.madisonpublicschools.org/madisonhs/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=361574. (**Any tickets sold at the door will be $15.)